Among the different causes for the social evil feeble-mindedness has been suggested, but nowhere has it been given the prominence that is due it. Anyone who understands feeble-mindedness, especially the moron, cannot expect anything less than that great numbers of these girls will fall into the life of prostitution. As to the actual statistics on this subject we have almost none. One very significant record comes from Geneva, Illinois, made by Dr. Bridgman. She found that of 104 girls in the Reformatory who were committed for an immoral life 97% were feeble-minded. This does not by any means indicate that 97% of prostitutes are feeble-minded, because it is only natural to expect that the feeble-minded ones would be the ones to be caught and sent to an institution. These figures, nevertheless, give us some idea of the prevalence of feeble-mindedness in this traffic. Many competent judges estimate that 50% of prostitutes are feeble-minded. Pages 14–15.
The 327 cases here presented constitute a unitary group. They have not been selected. They are of all ages and grades of defect. Page 7.
Our 327 families naturally fall into six fundamental groups, as follows: 4—Accident Group, 57; 5—No Cause, 8; 6—Unclassifiable, 27. Pages 47–48.
The following table gives an idea of the fecundity of these groups of women.
| No. of Mothers | No. of Children | Average | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hereditary | 139 | 992 | 7.1 |
| Probably Hereditary | 27 | 168 | 6.2 |
| Neuropathic | 36 | 204 | 5.6 |
| Accident | 50 | 258 | 5.1 |
| No Cause | 8 | 258 | 5.7 |
| Unclassified | 27 | 118 | 4.3 |
| ——— | ————— | ——— | |
| 287 | 1,786 | 6.2 |
In addition to the mentality, whether normal or feeble-minded, record has been kept of certain diseases and conditions supposed to be more or less associated with feeble-mindedness in a causal relation. These are the following: 1—Alcohol; 2—Tuberculosis; 3—Sexual Immorality; 4—Paralysis, Insanity, Epilepsy, Neurotic Condition, Syphilis, Criminality, Deafness, Blindness, Migraine, Goitre, Vagrancy. Page 473.
Sexual immorality is closely associated with hereditary feeble-mindedness. Closely connected with the subject of sexual immorality is the one of illegitimacy. Our records show 278 illegitimate children of whom 259, or 93% are in the pure Hereditary group, 12 in the Probably Hereditary group, 3 in the Neuropathic, and 4 in the Accident group. There is nothing new in these facts. They are simply confirmatory of what we have found in other lines. Page 499.
The feeble-minded person is not desirable; he is a social encumbrance, even a burden to himself. In short, it were better, both for him and for Society had he never been born. Should we not then in our attempt to improve the race begin by preventing the birth of more feeble-minded? Page 558.
THE FEEBLE-MINDED A SOCIAL DANGER. A. F. Tredgold, L.R.C.P., London. M.R.C.S., England. Medical Expert to the Royal Commission on the Feeble-minded, etc. Eugenics Review. Vol. 1, April, 1909. Pub. Eugenics Education Society, London.
In England and Wales on January 1st, 1906 there were a total of 138,529 persons in the country who were defective in mind. This corresponds to 4.03 per thousand population, or to one mentally defective person in every 248. In England and Wales on January 1st, 1906, there were no less than 125,827 insane persons. If we add these to the number of the mentally deficient which I have just stated, we find that in this country there is one person out of every 130 who suffers from severe disease of the mind. P. 98–99.